Michael Jordan’s history of endorsements, as he makes demands with ‘Air’ movie producers

'Air,' a new movie about Nike’s efforts to create a basketball shoe and coax then-college basketball player, the great Michael Jordan, had its first screening at SXSW over the weekend, with director and star Ben Affleck revealing a couple of interesting tidbits ahead of its screening.

The production crew sought the approval of Michael Jordan ahead of shooting the film, set for a theatrical release next month before arriving on Amazon Prime Video, who eventually gave his blessing on the semi-biographical account of his beginnings with the sportswear brand. However, he did have some demands ahead of the film - including a few cast members he ideally would like to see on the big screen.

"I had a chance to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to make this movie without asking him, ‘What matters to you?’ Interestingly, and tellingly, he had a few things that mattered," Affleck told audiences on the final night of SXSW 2023 in attendance. "One of them was that Howard White needed to be in the movie [...] He told me about his father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I saw this look cross his face…It was a look of reverence, of awe, of love, and gratitude, and innocence."

Affleck continued: "[Jordan] said, ‘None of this would have ever happened without my mother.’ I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis." Davis was ultimately cast in the film, alongside Chris Tucker who assumes the role of Howard White, a mentor to basketball athletes like Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, who ultimately became vice president of the Jordan brand.

Jordan’s participation in the film, despite not appearing in the movie itself, helped to shine some light on his history of endorsement deals throughout his first NBA tenure - from his first sponsorship deal during his rookie season in 1984 to his now iconic game of H.O.R.S.E with Larry Bird for McDonald’s, those at Nike who saw the potential in the young superstar shooting guard must be thankful for the early investment, despite the numbers not accounting for inflation.

So who did end up paying the highest amount to earn a sponsorship with His Royal Airness?

Michael Jordan’s first endorsement deal wasn’t Nike, but instead with car manufacturer Chevrolet during his rookie season at the Chicago Bulls. For a rookie, commanding a fee already of $200,000 USD was unheard of, but such was the super-rookie status of Jordan that the car company was happy to part with it.

Despite wanting to sign for Adidas, who alongside Converse were deemed as the kings of basketball shoes, Nike’s lucrative offer in 1984 was worth an estimated $1.2 million USD when adjusted for inflation. His brand sponsorship with the company, leading to his own Air Jordan brand, has netted the company and himself over £1.7 billion in profits since signing his first deal.

The real money came when Jordan shortly became one of the most popular sportspersons in the world, netting a whopping $2 million USD from adorning the front of the popular Wheaties cereal box in 1988, before transitioning from modelling on a cereal box to modelling underwear as Hanes signed Jordan to a multi-year deal for $14 million USD.

At the height of his fame, having led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA Championship in 1991, Jordan swapped Coca-Cola for Gatorade, leading into the now iconic 'Be Like Mike' advertising campaign, and earning the basketball legend $13.5 million USD in a 10-year deal with the drinks company, while basketball card and collectables merchant Upper Deck also signed Jordan to an exclusive endorsement deal, including using his signature for rare trading cards, for $14 million USD - shortly before leading the Bulls to their second championship.

While the reported figure for McDonald’s does look cheap, for a year deal he was paid $800,000 USD for his participation in the now famous advert alongside Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. That does not account for royalties however; around this time, long before Travis Scott, McDonald’s released the 'McJordan' meal, where his likeness would also stand to net him accrued royalties for his image being used across a wider range of instore advertising.